LUCKNOW: Wearing religious beliefs on one’s sleeves and observing fast in reverence of favourite deity is commonplace in UP. But, the recent cash crunch has forced the agitated businessmen turn to a unique protest: holding Aarti before an ATM.
On Thursday, at least eight different trader associations in Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Faizabad and
Sitapur sang long prayers in front of ATMs, while decorating the cash dispensing machines with garlands and rose petals. In some cases, holy water was poured before the machines.
The protests were a fallout of weak business transactions on Akshaya Tritiya, the auspicious festival when Hindus buy property, jewellery or expensive items, which fell on Wednesday. “Neither Rs 2,000, nor Rs 200 or Rs 50 notes are available at ATMs. We have neither been called by district magistrates or any banking associations. How are we supposed to know hold any business at our shops,” asked
Jyanesh Mishra, president Akhil Bharatiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal.
Mishra, along with several businessmen, sang, ‘Jai ATM Deva, Swami
Jai ATM Deva, Cash Ki Killat Door Karo, Swami Jai ATM Deva’ paraphrasing a popular Hindi bhajan.
While Kanpur is a hub of leather footwear and tobacco industry, Allahabad, Varanasi and Faizabad largely deal in temple items, fashion merchandise and jewellery. Many businessmen also complained that they were not able to pay migrant workers from villages in UP due to cash crunch over the last week. UP chief minister
Yogi Adityanath had recently convened a meeting to deal with cash crunch.
The protests were a fallout of weak business transactions on Akshaya Tritiya